Flow
by medimoloko
Summary: Ulquiorra is a happy farm boy of Alexsandrovsk, Russia, located just north of Japan. One day his world gets flipped inside out as the Japanese army invade his village and he is forced to relocate in a country foreign to him.
1. Revelations

Ulquiorra, was an odd name for a Russian boy. Maybe it wouldn't have been so odd if he lived in the urban regions of the west, but he didn't. He lived in the humble village of Aleksandrovsk that was located in the far East, just north of Japan. The village was not only small but also very isolated from the industrialization and urbanization of west Russia. No, his life was that of a simple farm boy living in a traditional household. He lived with his mother, father and his grandmother who he affectionately called Babushka.

Ulquiorra liked to think of himself as normal, but the people of the village thought highly of him, he was such a marvel to look at. He had the greenest, animated eyes they had ever seen and his raven black hair, dark thick eyebrows and pale skin enhanced his good features. Not only was he beautiful, but he also had the personality to match his looks, his innocence and love were felt by all who were near him. So at ten years old, the young boy was already a hit with everyone he encountered.

It was a surprisingly warm afternoon, being that it was winter season, and he was strolling about in the village when he spotted the most beautiful scarf that his mother would surely love. He ran back to his house that was located at the edge of the village.

"Babushka! Mama! Papa! Look at what I have found! A beautiful scarf! Here Mama, for you."

"Child! Do not give a scarf to your mother, you know it is bad luck" Papa scolded, he proceeded to knock on the wooden table to counter the bad luck Ulquiorra had unknowingly imposed on Mama.

The boys parents were brought up in the humble region of Aleksandrovsk where superstitions were as believable and real as modern medicine. Even though they had virtually no money, they lived off the land and the boy never knew the meaning of hunger. Being an only child, his parents were always sure to provide their beloved son with only the best that they could give.

Later that day, the family decided to go on a walk through the forest that surrounded their small cottage and afterwards Mama started supper. Soon, it was Ulquiorra's bedtime

* * *

and he was tucked into bed. Everything in his life seemed so beautiful, but that night he felt uneasy. It was like he could sense that disaster was just over the horizon and he could do nothing to prevent it.

"Maybe it was the scarf I gave to Mama" He thought to himself. "You are never to give a scarf as a present as it symbolizes grief. That is what traditional superstitions say…I only hope nothing happens…." He wanted to shake it off but the was so pervasive that it even invaded his dreams. That night he dreamt of grief, hunger, and death, all which were foreign to him.

* * *

_Standing on top of a hill all he could see was fire consuming the village he grew up in and with it the people were killed. Odd, only the children were spared, only to be carried off by unusual people, these people were foreign, that much he knew. Ethnically, they looked so different, their eyes resembled slits more than eyes, and they had such high cheekbones! What was the name given to these people? Asian? Yes he remembered Babushka telling him stories of these exotic peoples of the east. Apparently they were barbaric yet graceful people who deceived with their graceful words and movements. Babushka was right; these men were hauling the kids off to vehicles by the dozen, what were their intentions? In the last moments of his dream he saw as the men disposed of his family in a pile of corpses. In shock Ulquiorra yelled, only to be spotted by the men and chased down into the forest. Just as he was about to escape, he was caught from his shirt and struck by one of the foreign men…_

* * *

Gasping for air, Ulquiorra woke up covered in sweat and fear. "I must rid myself of these thoughts" He then proceeded to put on a coat and pants and walk outside the house. His village was safe and he knew he would only be gone for a few minutes, and with that he snuck outside to take a walk outside the forest. As he opened the door, he felt the cold winter air hit his face, yes, he should only be gone a few minutes. Upon entering the forest, he could easily spot the rock where he always sits on top of to relax after running about in the forest. He sat on it for a few moments and slowly started to shift his weight and lie down. He still had a persistent feeling that something was going to happen, but for now it was sure that the forest would protect him, and he then slowly drifted to sleep yet again.

* * *

Author's note: ok, so this is my first ever story I have written (that is not for school purposes :3) so if it sounds off, its because my writing skills are a little rusty. Ok I'm done writing, as always I am open to criticism. :3


	2. Red winter

Disclamer:

I do not own any of the content; all characters belong to the original author of Bleach (who for some reason I can't remember lol)

Update the author's name is Tite Kubo (*facepalm), obviously I'm such a good fan lol

* * *

Ulquiorra snapped open his eyes and realized he had slept the entire night. Surely his parents were worried about his whereabouts. He knew he would get scolded the moment he returned, but he couldn't bear see his family worried sick about him. He raced through the forest to get home quickly, hoping it was still early enough that his parents were still asleep. Curse the winter, it was getting harder to distinguish between day and night when the sun was constantly hiding behind the clouds and the land was covered in white. The number of trees were waning which told him he was drawing nearer to the village, a slow smile started to creep up. As he drew closer to his cottage however, an odd scent permeated the air and his senses. He couldn't put his finger on the smell; the scent reminded him of his dream, of burning flesh.

"That's stupid, how would I know what that smells like? "Nodding his head back and forth to shake away the thought, last nights nightmare was something unfathomable and could never happen. Drawing horribly near, he couldn't help but chew on his lower lip and play with his hair. He finally made his way out of the forest and set his eyes on the village. It was on fire, his feet suddenly felt heavy as he digested the sight before him.

"Fuh-fuh-fuh fire? Th-th-this can't be happening. Oh my god, mom, dad, babushka where are you?" He ran straight to his house only to find it littered and with no sign of his parents

* * *

He had been running frantically looking for his parents that he hadn't noticed a pair of watchful eyes him. They were common Japanese soldiers, Kenpachi Zaraki and Renji Abarai. They were on a mission to capture a handful of kids they found fit and healthy enough to bring back to Japan, and to kill off all the adults. They were to also destroy any traces of the village so that no one would be aware of the Japanese pillaging an innocent village. It was a very effective method; Russian villages as traditional as Aleksandrovsk seldom allowed their people to leave the village and relatives were always together. Destroying any trace of the village would go unnoticed by anyone in the capital as no one cared for small, countryside villages. Neither one nor the other knew why they were asked to do this but obliged nonetheless. Kenpachi was a bloodthirsty animal who reveled in war, this job was too perfect for him and he was not about to question the people who were allowing him to destroy and kill to quench his thirst for blood. Renji was more of a laidback man who was obedient so he followed orders without much thought, as long as it didn't conflict with his morals.

"Hehehe well would ya look at that, new prey, lets see how fast the brat can run."

"Kenpachi, please don't get carried away, you do know we have to keep at least _some_ alive"

"Ahhh one kids death won't make a difference, besides if he can't survive, then he is not worthy of coming with us."

"Tch, you gotta point there, but with your prowess, none of these kids stand a chance."

"Agh you're taking the fun outta this operation, at least let me have at it with this one."

"Eh, suit yourself, couldn't give a rats-ass about these slavs anyways. Just remember to-"

"Yeah yeah, I gotcha, 'we have to keep at least some alive' geez I swear this is my last one, then we'll kill the rest of em' off"

Completely unaware of the soldier's conversation, Ulquiorra continued running frantically, calling out for his family. They couldn't have been far away. Deep in his heart, he knew they must've been long dead, but he couldn't give up hope of finding them still alive.

"My god this prey is just no fun, he ain't really good at keeping himself concealed. Heh, lemme put ya outta your misery right now."

Startled, Ulquiorra slowly turned around to finally face Kenpachi. The mere sight of him made Ulquiorra shiver all over. The man was tall, had long spikey dark brown hair and a noticeable scar running down the the side of his face. What made him so scary was the look in his eyes; he did not look at Ulquiorra as a human, but rather an animal target waiting to be killed. He wanted to runa away, but his legs failed him and he was left satring at the man who was about to murder him in cold blood.

"My god, this kid is retarded" Renji muttered to himself. "Oi! Slav! Look for cover, or else Kenpachi is gonna get you"

Ulquiorra snapped out of his trance, so Kenpachi was the one with the crazy look in his eyes. He had never encountered anyone who killed with excitement in his eyes (not that he'd ever seen someone murder a person). He knew he had to wise up and play along with Kenpachi's game, only this time the loser would face a gruesome, blood-filled death courtesy of a crazy Japanese solider.

"Hahaha, looks like ya finally saw me, now lets play a little game now, I'll give ya 30, nah make it 60 seconds to get outta my sight. Get ready, get set, GO!"

* * *

Authors note: Ok well I tried improving from the previous chapter. Thank you lilarin for the links you suggested, I really did read some of them and they were helpful. Now I know I did something wrong (with my grammar and structure) if you have any suggestions or criticism please do point them out as I do plan on improving my writing skills. Oh and btw, in case the break lines don't appear, can someone please tell me how to put them? I'm still trying to figure out these damn controls .


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